


Rocket Man

by black_dipped_roses



Category: Men in Black (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Kiss, Love Confessions, M/M, Men in Black 3, Mutual Pining, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-11 05:13:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18423576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/black_dipped_roses/pseuds/black_dipped_roses
Summary: Jay's thoughts looking back on his and (1969) Kay's relationship as they leave for Cape Canaveral.





	Rocket Man

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work of fictional parody in no way intended to infringe upon the rights of any individual or corporate entity. Any and all characters or celebrity personae belong to their rightful owners. Absolutely no money has or will be gained from this work. Please do not publicly link, repost or redistribute without letting me know first. Thank you :)
> 
> Also, I know there are direct quotes from the movie in this, but I wanted to show their feelings throughout this exchange, so be warned that some of it is straight from Men in Black III.
> 
> The characters might be a little OOC, but I hope I did them some justice. I love Jay and Kay, and I feel there's not enough of their pairing out there. I especially love Kay's characterization, so I tried to show Kay's side of things a bit more, but I admittedly didn't nail his character without adding in some of those mushy feelings I think he secretly has.

As soon as Jay said it, their dynamic changed.

  
“Do you have a girlfriend?”  
“I have you”

  
Jay might’ve implied that he and Kay were more than they really are, but if Kay’s behavior was anything to go by, he hadn’t made the wrong decision.

  
They’d walk an inch too close, they’d find excuses to touch each other through affectionate pats and “accidents” while handing things over, they’d stare at each other just a second longer than necessary- all of it was subtle.

  
So  _very_ subtle.

  
Jay could easily explain any part of it away, and Kay, even at a young age, was as unreadable as ever.  
It was unnoticeable - _imperceptible_.

  
Then came the night before July 16, 1969 and Jay knew, no matter how good at talking he was, Kay was going to see right through it.

  
“No, uh, wait, holda- hold up not, not us,” Jay grabbed Kay’s shoulder, barely managing to let go when Kay turned around, “Uh, I’m gonna do this one alone.”  
Jay smiles at Kay in an entirely unconvincing manner.  
“No, he has to be the one-“ Griffin begins before Jay quickly shushes him.  
“ _Sch sch, sch sch_ ,” Jay tries his best to signal his thoughts entirely through eye contact to Griffin before looking back at Kay.  
“What do you mean ‘ _alone_ ’?” Kay’s eyes narrow.  
“It means I’m gonna go to Florida, you’re gonna stay here, and I’m gonna need you to trust me on this one,” Jay can’t help but feel like he’s bargaining with destiny right now.  
“Trust you?” Kay shakes his head in one quick and certain motion- it doesn’t bode well for Jay, “I don’t think so. Is there somethin’ you’re not tellin’ me, Slick?”  
“I’m telling you, you’re not going to Florida,” Jay can feel Kay slipping through his fingers - He’s terrified.  
“Well that ain’t gonna happen, _partner_ ,” The way Kay says partner makes Jay feel like he’s being spit on.  
It’s hard enough trying to save your partner’s life from a ruthless killer hellbent on revenge, but Jay had hoped in vain that his relationship with Kay would be the easiest part of the whole thing, “Look Kay, _please_ , I will not allow you to go to _Florida_.”

Jay can’t loose him.  
Not again.  
Never again.

  
Kay was silent for a moment, until, as if he could sense Jay’s break in strength, “Stop me”

  
Kay got all of three feet away before Jay broke.  
He had to do something, even if it meant being honest, “ _You die there_ ” Jay yells, eyes tortured and broken.  
“Cape Canaveral. Apollo launch. Boris kills you there. That’s what I’m here for. That’s what I came back to stop,” Jay doesn’t care about the rest of the world- He just needs Kay, and he knows Kay - the nineteen sixties Kay - can see that easier than ever. Maybe even his Kay could.  
“Ohh dear, we’re in this one,” Griffin murmurs, and Jay only spares him a glance before staring at Kay again.  
“ _Kay_ ,” And he doesn’t hide any of it. He leaves everything they’ve never said in these words and his eyes.  
Fuck subtly.  
“I saw the file, and I looked at the report. Now, now I know I said I told you everything but you gotta-” Jay is stopped mid-sentence by a punch to the face.  
“That’s for lying to me,” Kay’s voice is hoarse, and Jay’s terrified he’s lost any chance he had at saving Kay.  
There’s not much else for Jay to say, “Look,  _I'm sorry_  man.”  
Another punch.  
“Aghhh,” Jay holds his face as he tries not to cry for reasons he can’t even blame on the physical pain.  
“And  _that's_  for telling me the truth,” Kay states, betrayal clear as day on his face.  
“Tying to  _protect you_ \- man, _agh_ ,” Jay doesn’t know how he’s going to fix any of this, but if he has to drug and tie up Kay, he will.  
“The bitterest truth is better than the sweetest lie,” Griffin remarks after a moment of Jay’s silent wallowing.  
Jay shushes him instead of screaming, and when Griffin tells him Kay has to go to Cape Canaveral, Jay isn’t surprised - just crossed and resigned.  
“Can I save him?” Jay pleaded, with the most ultimately human look Griffin would ever see in all of his years to come and lives to live, “Is there  _any_ future where I _save his life_?”  
For the first time in his entire life Jay only cared about one thing. He didn’t care about the _world_ , or the _stars_ , or the _universe_. The only thing that mattered right now was _Kay_.  
“Yes,” Griffin paused, an infinitely sad expression painted across his face, “But where there is death - there will  _always_ be death.”

  
There Jay stood, staring at Griffin without really seeing: his mind left in the wake of false-memories; a bourbon taste on kiss-bruised lips and stars swirling over eyes - pulling his anchors farther and farther away from shore. The ghosts of what might have been.  
Eventually he stepped away, eyes finding Kay’s back - face turned toward the sea. Jay thought it was fitting.  
“According to you, I’ve done this before, so we know it’s possible,” Kay had always been good at making things sound certain, even when he was the least convinced, “If you’re half the agent you say you are, you’ll make sure I don’t get killed doin’ it.”  
At Kay’s soft voice, Jay wanted more than anything to hold him and never let go. He knew his eyes said too much- that all of his feelings were dancing across his face, but he just couldn’t bring himself to care.  
Kay stared at him for a long, long moment- finally allowing himself to see Jay as he is. From the lines that showed a life full of laughter to the eyes that showed a life full of sorrow, Kay didn’t miss a single detail as he let Jay encompass his entire reality for this second. The sight of beautiful brown eyes reflecting a soul far too great for this world; the sound of a heart beating in rhythm with his own; the smell of the ocean and metal mixing in the air; the taste of salt and blood chasing the edges of his tongue; the touch of warmth that cut through the air, settling in Kay’s bones as he stood by Jay.

  
Kay didn’t hesitate.

  
His eyes flickered shut and he slammed into Jay’s mouth, like he couldn’t stop himself. Like they were magnetic. Infinitely drawn to each other.

  
Jay froze, eyes widening in astonishment before crushing Kay into him as the kiss became brutal - hands fisting in clothes and hair while their mouths fought against each other. It reminded Jay of the kind of kiss a guy would give his gal before going off to war, one so full of love and loss and promise and hope that you’d be drowning in it and by the end you’d have died and come back _twice_.

  
“So’re we partners? You tell me,” Kay asked, conviction in his eyes even while he struggled to breathe.  
Jay smiled, eyes sad but bright as he cradled Kay’s head, "Let's go.”

  
They didn’t need to talk about what they were and weren’t, nor how it was going to all work out. There just wasn’t enough time for it, but Jay knew where he stood. He knew what he meant to Kay, and he knew what Kay meant to him. It was in the way they gravitated towards each other, in the way not even death could keep them apart, in the way Jay looked at Kay like he had all of the secrets of the universe, and in the way Kay looked at Jay like he  _was_  the universe.

  
'I’ll never let anything happen to him again', Jay silently promised.

  
'I’ll always love him', Kay vowed.

  
They both kept their promises.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, thank you so so so so so so much for reading, and I hope you liked it. Please leave me comments and kudos because I live for them :) Criticism is also always welcomed


End file.
